Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portuguese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Español | Tagalog / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

The Nanai of Russian Federation

The Nanai of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 12,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tungusic ethnic group indigenous to Russian Manchuria region. They mostly adhere to Shamanism and Russian is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Nanai

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Altaic
Primary Language(s): Russian (rus)
Primary Religion(s): Shamanism
Population: 12,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000930
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Nanai of Russian Federation

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shamanism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

100%
%
Shamanism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Russian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Russian Speakers

Media Resources in Russian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film
The SaviorView Film

6 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Russian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1876 Synodal Bible, Light of the East Mission Anniversary Bible✓✓✓
2014 Bible League International✓
Holy Bible, New Russian Translation✓
Holy Synod Version✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Russian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nanai are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Nanai:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Nanai of Russian Federation

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
readRomans 1:22

Ask God to pour out His mercy and bring those who are walking in their own wisdom to faith in Jesus.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
readHebrews 10:39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, and faithfully follow God, they will share Christ boldly with those around them.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Nanai Across Countries (ROP3 - 107064) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
NanaiPG000930NanaiRussian Federation12,000Engaged yet UnreachedRussianShamanism
HezhenPG007186HezhenChina7,000Unengaged and UnreachedMandarin ChineseChinese Folk Religion

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

Scroll to Top